Party Politics in America analyzes three primary components of parties–party organization, party in the electorate, party in government–and the interaction of these components, especially during election campaigns. Originally written by Frank Sorauf and now authored by Majorie Hershey, the book integrates academic research with contemporary and historical examples to bring to life the fascinating story of how parties have helped to shape our political system.
In revising classic works in political science, Longman celebrates the contributions its authors and their research have made to the discipline. The Longman Classics in Political Scienceseries honors these authors and their work. Providing students with an updated context, each title in the series includes a foreword, written by one of today’s top scholars, offering a fresh, in-depth analysis of the book and its enduring contributions.
Long considered the gold standard of political parties texts, Party Politics in America provides students with an in-depth analysis of the historic 2008 Presidential campaign and election while looking ahead to assess what the shifting political winds have in store for the future of the major political parties and Americans’ political views.
Originally penned by Frank Sorauf and now authored by Marjorie Hershey, Party Politics in America provides students with the clearest, most comprehensive and engaging understanding of political parties and partisanship, which in turn are key to understanding the workings of elections, public opinion, policy-making, and leadership.
New to the Fourteenth Edition
· Completely updated information on the election results, campaign finance data, voter turnout and public opinion findings through the 2008 elections can be found throughout the entire text.
· Chapter 4 details the innovations in the national party organizations’ fund-raising and voter contact programs.
· Chapter 5 gives more attention to the participation and views of young voters, including a new “A Day in the Life” box featuring a college student working to win votes for Barack Obama in the rural areas and small towns of Appalachia.
· Chapter 7 examines the impact of the 2008 election on the remarkable regional shifts in the two parties’ bases of support.
· Chapter 8 has been reconfigured to focus on the parties’ efforts to broaden or limit access to the polls, including controversial state laws requiring voter ID and proof of citizenship in order to vote.
· Chapter 11 covers the use of technologies like texting and Twitter and how these new communication techniques are affect political campaigns.
· Chapter 12 examines the Obama fund-raising phenomenon and the rise in campaign activity by 501(c) groups.
· Chapter 16 assesses the pathways the Republican Party could choose to regain the momentum it has recently lost.
